#Israel-US relationship

[arsenicflame]

It's a time-honoured tradition- every time Sam comes across Izzy (and Ed) in their travels, he asks Izzy to marry him. And every time, Izzy turns him down.

At this point, Sam is asking more for the sake of it than any belief Izzy will ever say yes, a remnant of childhood dedication touched with 30 years of heartbreak and regret- though even now, a small part of him still holds out hope. Sam's promises have only got more extravagant over the years, from a job as his first mate, to a captaincy, a fleet at his command, a whole fucking island if that's what Izzy wants- but he knows it isn't though, not really. If Izzy was ever going to agree to marry him, to leave his life and go with Sam, it wouldn't be for anything Sam could offer him. Izzy never did care for flashy shows of wealth, for a ship or to be captain. The only thing that ever mattered to him was loyalty given, and loyalty shown in return. 

It all comes to a head after Stede left and came back, after Izzy lost a toe, lost his leg. Sam hasn't seen him since before things with Ed started to really slide off the rails, before stress permanently set into the lines of Izzy’s face. So, when he sees a dishevelled man with a hoof for a leg in a no-name port, he doesn't even consider the idea that he might know him. It's only when he turns towards him, and Sam catches a glance at those oh too familiar tattoos, he realises this is Izzy, his Izzy, that stands before him.

Knowing Izzy's discomfort with pity, he doesn't treat him any differently than he would in years gone by, positioning himself in Izzy's line of sight before approaching and sweeping him up into a bone crushing hug. 

“Israel-goddamn-Hands!” he exclaims, as Izzy grumbles back a begrudging “Samuel-fucking-Bellamy”, a tradition almost as old as their friendship itself. Izzy might not hug him back, but he can’t keep the corner of his mouth from twitching, just for a second.

(If Sam holds Izzy a little tighter and a little longer than usual, well. That's his business)

By the time Sam lets go, most of the crew has appeared in the town square, drawn in by the commotion. They may have given Izzy his leg and welcomed him as one of them, but still there’s an underlying tension, with nobody quite ready to set aside everything that happened before the Kraken. Seeing him cosying up to an unknown man sets everyone on edge, unsure whether to come to their first mate’s aid, or to assume that they've been betrayed once again.

When Ed sees that the yelling was Sam, his hand goes tense where it's held in Stede's. He knows the routine, has seen it more times than he can count, but as he watches them part he realises that this is the first time in a long time he's unsure of what Izzy's response will be.

Knowing that something’s different, knowing that Izzy's feeling vulnerable already, Sam doesn't go for the same flashy proposal he’s been giving for years. He doesn't promise Izzy the world, he doesn't cause a scene (or, any more of a scene than he already has, anyway). He looks at the fractured man in front of him, takes his face in his hands, and says the exact same thing to him he said when they were little more than boys. “Israel, I have to ask you. I know what you'll say, but I have to try. Come with me. Marry me and sail away with me. I'll keep you safe”

And Izzy… hesitates. He glances over at Ed, at Stede, and says to Sam “...We’re staying in port for a week. Ask me again then”

That's the moment Sam knows there is something deeply, horribly, wrong. He's not just looking at an Izzy who got seriously injured in a fight and is struggling to cope, this is something so much bigger than that- and that Ed has something to do with it. Izzy wouldn't even be considering leaving if he didn't. Whether it was negligence or something more sinister, Sam doesn't yet know, but he intends to find out.

[stil-lindigo]

ABC News in Australia covers the story of how community groups all over the country are coming together as a community to provide for returning Gazan families.

El Rahman Inc. stands at the forefront of this community effort in Naarm/Melbourne, and on the organisation’s Instagram page, regularly posts updates on what supplies are currently needed. It accepts monetary and supply donations at drop off points (which are currently closed until the 28th Dec).

The PCIA has also been instrumental in organising resources for returning Palestinian families. For more widespread support not limited to Melbourne, please consider donating to the Arab Council of Australia, another independent non-profit which has a long history of supporting their community. They are based in New South Wales, which is home to Australia's largest population of Arabic-speaking Australians.

--

ABC's news report also highlights that between October 7 and November 20, Home Affairs granted 860 visas to Palestinians, including those seeking to depart Gaza. However, what they fail to give proper attention to is the fact that Israel has been preventing Palestinians from leaving.

[ link ]

Of the around 860 visas distributed, only 143 Palestinians have managed to successfully arrive in Australia, with the number of new names being added to 'the list' falling to a pathetic degree. To understand the grave conditions of Palestinians awaiting safe passage, this is a great article to read. And although politicians like Penny Wong insist they are doing everything in their power to help Palestine in this time, Australia still shamefully stands by its strongest ally, the US, and actively provides military surveillance of the Gaza Strip to Israeli sources through Pine Gap, a military base in Alice Springs.

In this time, it is imperative to maintain pressure on the Australian government. Protest and vocal pro-Palestine movement is the only thing that caused Australia to eventually vote for a ceasefire in the recent UN resolution, after their cowardly performance earlier. Resources like vic_socialists on Instagram, regardless of where you may stand on their performance as a party itself, has been outstanding in organising regular protest movements across all of Victoria. APAN also maintains a list of pro-Palestine events all around Australia on their website, although I'm not sure at this point if it's exhaustive.

[dinozaurtual]

actually unhinged how easily a lot of people on tumblr could have gotten really into armed Zionism in the right time and place….. the ideology of the corrupt traditionalist world that the true revolutionary must leave behind for something new… the love of cleansing violence and militarization… the idea that in the interests of an oppressed group of people all violence is justified and there are no civillians… agriculture/nature fetishization and cottagecore… why don’t we all just leave society and form an armed found family agricultural commune!!!! We will find community and purity in the harvest. No living In a Broken society.

as someone who grew up in israel so many underlying ideas and rhetoric of leftist goyim i see on here just.. reminds me so much of the zionist ideology we learned of in school here!!! and it makes me sick

[secreteviltwin]

that actually is the solution for indigenous groups actually, which include jews

bruh you cannot have it both ways. listen to the far right in europe, they are saying the exact same fucking thing. "germany is for germans" (israel is for jews) (palestine is for arabs) is terrifying. no society has ever been homogeneous, it's not possible and it absolutely cannot be the goal. scary genocidal shit happens when people act like this level of unhinged nationalism is normal. we do actually have to respect each other and share the earth instead of continuing with this delusion that populations are homogenous and culture is discreet and we all have mutually exclusive pockets of land we belong to by cosmic design

[taohun]

i do not need to see "desis" who live in fucking new york city talking about how india deserves to be nuked for ISRAEL asking for basically slave labor. you couldn't name a single implemented policy that has caused the tilt towards "india-israel relations" and you could not say out loud what the country's foreign policy is and you could not explain what hindutva is outside of hand-wavy "it's bad!". it is CRAZY to say that because you are some random who happens to be ethnically indian living in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA that 1.4 BILLION people deserve to be "carved off of asia and nuked because they're all pieces of shit". you're fucked in the head.

[screamingfromuz]

Why does USA help Israel and is its ally? Honest question

honest answer- Israel is a useful pawn and a way for the USA to exerciser their values and ideals.

I wrote over a page with citetions before my post got erased and I'm not in the mood to rewrite that, so here is two good pier reviewed academic summaries of USA-Israel relations. the first is only 32 pages, and cover most of the basics, even though it focuses on strategic value and ignores the fact that being the main patron of Israel, the USA have an almost unlimited access to Israeli innovations, and I remind you that Israel has the nickname "start up nation" for a reason. Also as it is from 1998 it lacks perspective on the last 25 years.

for that I offer the second source, more modern and only 18 pages long, and therefore far less extensive then the first source about the history, but have explanation about the present and conversations about the future. of course October 7th changed stuff, but the academic world will take a few years to fully analyze it.

if I could have upload the PDF files for free I would, but tumblr is not letting me. So I apologize.

reading list:

Bar-Siman-Tov, Y., Hahn, P. L., & Schoenbaum, D. (1998). The United States and Israel since 1948: A “Special Relationship”? Diplomatic History, 22(2), 231–262.

Gilboa, Eytan. 2023. “US-Israel Relations at 75.” Israel Affairs 29 (3): 473–91.

p.s Diplomatic History is a great Journal to start research about geopolitics from.

[francisforever2014]

this is an old article and maybe old news to some but it’s very interesting in terms of examining the history of the us-israel relationship and how they’ve been working together to terrorize people for forever….

[dihalect]

i need to post about palestine on facebook but i'm fucking terrified

[hezigler]

Jon Stewart Interrogates America's Support of Israel & 2024 Solar Eclips...

John Stewart speaking truth to power through a comedy show that pretends to be a news show.

[eretzyisrael]

Source

[arsenicflame]

so, this ones technically not a fix it because its still major character death but this is how i would tweak the canon story to give Izzy's death meaning and weight.

First of all, Izzy doesn't get shot by Ricky. The crew of the revenge may still be absolute rookies by Izzy's standards but even they know to take all the weapons off a hostage and unload any guns. Ricky still escapes and alerts the Navy, and our crew are running through the woods, down to the beach and Izzy is still falling back. For all his new prosthetic has helped his mobility immensely, its no good for running. Its clunky and dragging behind him and Ed and Frenchie and Jim and everyone keeps slowing down to make sure he's keeping up with them, but in doing that the navy are quickly catching up to all of them, they're being swarmed.

They break through the trees onto the beach, with more and more men coming up behind them. Izzy's struggling even more across the beach than he was in the woods, the hoof sinking in and sand shifting as he tries to run, and he stumbles. All the while Navy men continue to appear from all directions- and it hits him. That this is it. There's no way they will all make it out alive.

But he's Izzy Fucking Hands and even if he cant run anymore, he can still fight. He can fight for this crew, this family, these people who have given him so much, who have opened their arms to him when he was at his lowest, who have allowed him to feel free. He can still fight. He can buy them time.

So he turns, and draws his sword.

There was never any way he could win, of course. Even when he truly was the best swordfighter in all the Caribbean, fighting dozens of navy men at once would have been beyond him- but he can distract them, hold them off long enough the revenge sets sail. Its a glorious sight, one man against dozens, bodies falling around him as he holds them back. Its impressive to watch, and maybe, for a second, the crew allows themselves to hope. But then, he takes a cut to his sword arm, and another to his side.

And then he goes down.

But he goes down fighting.

Izzy Hands, who spent his whole life fighting dies that way too, fighting for the safety he spent his whole life searching for.

[therainingkiwi]

I am a Jew.

I did not know that civilians lived in Palestine until i was probably sixteen. SIXTEEN. You know when I first learned that Palestine existed? Oh, probably when I was three or four, in Hebrew school.

I was literally taught that Palestine is a nation of terrorists. I thought it was basically one giant army base where Hamas planned attacks, rather than a real country with hospitals and cities and schools. Again: I did not know that civilians and everyday non-terrorists lived in Palestine until I was a fucking TEENAGER (and even then, it was despite my synagogue's best efforts, not because they changed the shul curriculum or anything).

I'm not saying this because I'm proud. I am DEEPLY ashamed to have once believed this. It's why I focus my anti-Israel activism around the Jewish community in particular: I do not trust myself around Palestinians because I fear I haven't rooted out my prejudices enough for them to be safe in my company. I'm not sure I ever will.

But you need to know how intense Israeli propaganda is. You need to know WHY so many people can't distinguish between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. Israel has spent lots of time and money on its international image. They've spent possibly even MORE time and money to smear Palestine into the mud. Israel relies on the world seeing their colonization as valiant Jews holding steadfast against evil Islamic terrorists. Without their indoctrination, they don't have power.

I hope Palestine rises higher and freer than Netanyahu's worst fucking nightmares.

I was asked why there's a zionist claim that the Palestininian identity is not legitimate. And I think it's important to understand why Palestinians as a whole are seen as a threat by Israel. To understand why it's not about Hamas.

The claim is that the Palestininian identity was made up in order to push us out. Palestinian existence is a threat to the legitimacy of Israel as a country.

I was taught in school that Palestine was empty when we got here. They used a Mark Twain quote. It was a barren land full of swamps and some nomadic people (Beduins) but as soon as we wanted to come here, the awful antisemitic Arabs sent people to settle here before we could to take up the space. I was in school in the settlements though. I was taught the most extreme version of this.

Another version of this is that Palestine was never its own thing, they're just Arabs the same as all Arabs from the surrounding countries. So they could just... scooch over and give us the space, please and thank you. In Israel no one uses the term Palestinian. If I do, people roll their eyes and dismissively go "Arab." An Arab is an Arab. It's a way to strip away their unique identity and blend them in with the rest to say they could always move to Jordan, or Syria, or Lebanon, and it's all the same to them.

It's a way to make Palestinian existence by itself into a malicious plot to deny us a homeland.

Because if Palestinians exist as a distinct group of people, we aren't the only ones with a connection to this land. And you don't create an ethnostate by sharing.

You still hear echoes of this mentality. Why won't all these Muslim countries take the people of Gaza as refugees? That's asking why they won't let Israel make its ethnic cleansing more neat and convenient. Yes, refugees should be taken in and given shelter. But this question shifts responsibility away from Israel. Palestinians shouldn't be forced suffer either ethnic cleansing that leaves them as refugees, or a genocide.

[plitnick]

U.S. efforts to entice Israel into minimizing its attack on Iran are only raising the chances for regional war

The Biden administration is showering Israel with military aid and support to persuade it not to hit Iran’s energy sector, but this will only increase Israeli impunity and push the region closer to war. Read more at Mondoweiss.

[headlinehorizon]

State Department Approves $106.5 Million Tank Ammunition Sale to Israel Amidst Ongoing Conflict - Latest News

In a move bypassing Congress, the State Department has approved the sale of tank ammunition to Israel, emphasizing its importance to US national interests and Israeli self-defense capability. This article explores the implications of this decision and its connection to the current conflict with Hamas.

[amaditalks]

There is no arguing with the reality: Biden is the only choice that prevents the wholesale death and destruction of both Palestinians and Americans. People saying that they cannot vote for Biden are refusing to acknowledge the facts of the single issue that they claim is their motivation.

Meanwhile the US will continue to work on providing humanitarian aid which Israel is treating as a potential means of smuggling arms to Hamas, which should be a sign of how tenuous the relationship really is, and how difficult a resolution to this war will be to actually bring about.